City Abandons Canarsie In Midst Of Post-Hurricane Cleanup

Trees that were uprooted along East 108th Street have not been removed. Is Mother Nature going to pay the $500 fine for dumping debris in our community?

If you walk along East 108th Street from avenues J to M, you’ll see plenty of trash, including natural debris, scattered inside the fencing at the Fresh Creek Nature preserve.

The assumption is that most of the trash washed up near the creek is still there as a result of waves from Hurricane Sandy’s forceful storm surge. Many residents say it’s taking longer than it should to clear a lot of the trash from the area, but community activist Gerry Weiner – who lives across from the creek – said the Parks Department has been slowly working to improve conditions along East 108th Street.

Community activist Maria Garrett, who has been advocating to improve conditions along the creek, said Canarsie’s natural land has been left behind.

Trash scattered all along Fresh Creek. Oddly enough, new trees, that were planted last spring, as part of Mayor Bloomberg’s Million Trees NYC, withstood the storm’s wrath.

Park’s spokesperson Meghan Lalor said, “The litter is a combination of post-storm debris and illegal dumping. Once the weather allows, we will work to clear the area.”

While sign indicates that a fine will be imposed for littering, most garbage was allegedly not the work of litterbugs.